WHITPAIN — A Virginia man alleged to be the ninth co-conspirator in a multi-million-dollar, multi-state marijuana ring operating in Montgomery County that was dismantled by authorities last year in “Operation Weed Whacker” was arraigned in district court Thursday after turning himself in on an arrest warrant.

John Martin Warnock, 23, of Herndon — which is located in Fairfax County, Va. — appeared Thursday morning before District Judge Robert Sobeck of Whitpain with his attorney, Anthony Gallo, at his side and family members present in the courtroom for the proceedings.

Warnock was arraigned on five felony criminal counts, including two counts of possession with intent to deliver, one count of conspiracy, one count of corrupt organizations and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.

Sobeck set bail at $50,000 unsecured, and ordered Warnock to return to his courtroom on March 17 for a preliminary hearing.

After an eight-month investigation, authorities announced in May of last year that the ring — dubbed the “Frederick Enterprise” after its purported ringleader, Dennis Frederick, 41, of Drexel Hill, Pa. — allegedly distributed nearly two tons of high-grade marijuana, shipped from California, to customers in the greater Philadelphia area between January 2012 and April 2013, generating almost $15 million in profit.

Authorities said they first discovered the ring operating in Whitpain in 2012, and the subsequent investigation involved confidential sources, phone wiretaps, law enforcement surveillance and four controlled marijuana buys within Montgomery County.

Eight people, including Frederick, were arrested last year in connection with the operation conducted by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Narcotics Enforcement Team, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sacramento Police Department.

Warnock is described in a 146-page affidavit of probable cause filed in district court last year as a marijuana trafficker for the ring — one of several individuals allegedly distributing marijuana in Montgomery, Philadelphia, Delaware and Bucks counties, as well as Virginia.

Montgomery County detectives said that during an April of 2013 meeting with members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Fairfax County detectives involved in the case, FBI agents said they received information that Frederick was moving large quantities of pot from the Philadelphia area to Virginia, and that at the time of “Operation Weed Whacker,” Warnock was believed to be the main source of marijuana supply in Fairfax, Va.

According to court documents, law enforcement conducting surveillance of the Memphis Flats condominium complex in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia on April 30 of last year — Frederick’s brother, Jeffrey Frederick, 33, also implicated as a member of the ring, maintained a residence that was being used as a marijuana stash house, authorities said — observed Warnock meet with Dennis Frederick and deliver two tool boxes to Frederick from his pickup truck, then later exit Memphis Flats with two cardboard boxes that he put into the bed of his truck before departing.

Authorities said they believed the tool boxes contained money, and the cardboard boxes contained marijuana, and shortly after the pair’s transaction a Pennsylvania State Police trooper contacted FBI agents in Virginia to inform them of the alleged drug deal.

Court documents show that Warnock was stopped by members of the Fairfax Drug Task Force upon his return to Virginia, and “multiple pounds of marijuana” were seized, according to Fairfax County officials, who said that Warnock admitted to them that he had purchased the marijuana from Dennis Frederick.

Last month, one of the alleged co-conspirators — Stanislav Dubovsky, 27, of Philadelphia — pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to multiple felony counts of possession with intent to deliver marijuana and conspiracy in connection with his role as a distributor in the drug ring. Dubovsky is awaiting sentencing, which is scheduled for May 27, court records show; he potentially faces decades in prison on the charges.

Meanwhile, the seven other alleged “Frederick Enterprise” co-conspirators arrested last year — Dennis Frederick, Jeffrey Frederick, Charles Sadrin (accused of being the ring’s California marijuana supplier), Ernest Peterkin, Martin Williams, Earl DeSantis and John Walker — are still awaiting trial in the case.